Israeli-US strikes Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after crossing the Razi-Kapikoy border in a van in northeastern Turkey on Tuesday, a day after Turkey and Iran mutually suspended day-trip crossings at their border as Israeli-US strikes continued to hit the Islamic Republic.
Ali Ihsan Ozturk/AFP via Getty Images
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Ali Ihsan Ozturk/AFP via Getty Images
The war with Iran continued to widen on Thursday as US and Israeli forces hit more targets inside Iran, while major US ally Azerbaijan said drones launched by Iran hit an airport in its Nakhchivan region.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the explanation was sought after the drones crashed into the airport’s main terminal building and landed near another school, injuring two civilians.
On Thursday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed in a statement that its naval forces had shot down a US oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf. The US did not immediately respond.
The claim comes as fighting has disrupted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors. In the first days of the conflict, traffic through the normally busy passage faded, Iran declared it closed and attacked the few ships that tried to cross through it.
US Central Command and Israel’s military said they carried out new strikes inside Iran overnight. Israel’s military said on Thursday its air force had shot down an armed ballistic missile launch near the city of Qom that it said was ready to fire on Israel. It said it shot down an Iranian air defense system in Isfahan.
Since the attacks began, more than 920 people have died in Iran, according to Iran’s health ministry, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hundreds at a girls’ school.
Here are more important updates NPR is reporting.
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China | Iran |US and Israel | Lebanon and Qatar | Powers of House War | US soldiers are identified
China insists on returning to talks and names an ambassador
With the conflict widening, China has urged Tehran and Washington to return to talks as war over Iran weakens global energy markets.
China, the world’s largest importer of oil and gas, saw crude prices jump 10%, while natural gas prices were even higher. Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas normally passes — has all but dried up.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister that “indiscriminate use of force is unacceptable” and should not attack non-military targets.
China said on Thursday it would send Zhai Jun, who has served as China’s ambassador to the Middle East since 2019, to the region to help mediate the conflict. But the Ministry of External Affairs did not give further details or specify which countries the ambassador would visit.
Iran’s foreign minister says US “deeply regrets” sinking of Iranian warship
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of escalating the conflict after an Iranian naval ship sank in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka. In a post on X on Thursday, Araghchi called it an “atrocity at sea” and warned that the US “deeply regrets” the sinking of the warship Dena, which he said was a guest of the Indian Navy and struck in international waters without warning.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the US was behind the sinking of the Iranian ship, and that the ship hit by a US submarine was the first to be downed by a torpedo since World War II.
Sri Lanka’s navy said 32 people were rescued from the shipwreck and 87 bodies were recovered, the Associated Press reported.
According to US officials, the US has deployed 50,000 troops, more than 200 fighter jets and two aircraft carriers in the region. US and Israeli strikes hit nearly 2,000 targets and severely damaged Iran’s air defense and missile-launch infrastructure, CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said this week.
Hegseth to Israel Defense Minister: “We are with you”
In an overnight call, Israel’s defense minister said Hegseth praised the partnership between the US and Israel in the war against Iran.
Katz said he offered his condolences to the six U.S. service members killed since the start of the war and said Israel would continue to do everything possible to ensure the safety of American troops. Katz’s office said Hegseth urged Israel to “go all the way — we’re with you.”
On Wednesday, a U.S. official told NPR that a U.S. warship in the eastern Mediterranean shot down an Iranian missile headed toward Turkey. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Iran’s armed forces on Thursday denied any missile fire at Turkey and said it respects the country’s sovereignty.
More than 80,000 displaced in Lebanon; Qatar Evacuates Area Around US Embassy
In Lebanon, aid groups say conditions are worsening for families fleeing strikes in the south near the border with Israel. Lebanese officials say more than 80,000 people have been displaced, many sheltering in schools or sleeping in cars, and shelter capacity is running thin.
Authorities in Qatar have evacuated residents from buildings surrounding the US embassy in Doha. In a statement on X, Qatar’s interior ministry said the evacuation was a “temporary precautionary measure”.
A House vote on the war powers measure is expected
In Washington, the House is expected to vote on Thursday aimed at limiting President Trump’s ability to extend the war without congressional approval.
The measure is widely expected to be defeated, as a similar effort in the Senate failed to advance on Wednesday. The vote was 47-53, largely along party lines.
The measure was built around the War Powers Act of 1973, a Vietnam-era law designed to check the president’s executive war powers in Congress. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying US troops to a conflict and to end the deployment within 60 days unless lawmakers authorize it.
Six US soldiers killed have been identified
The Pentagon has released the names of all six US soldiers killed after the US and Israel attacked Iran. He was in the Army Reserve and was killed on Sunday during a drone strike in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the Defense Department said on Tuesday.
- Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.
- Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.
- Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.
- Sergeant Declan J. Cody, 20, West Des Moines, Iowa
- Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzon, 54, Sacramento, California.
All six Soldiers are assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. The department said that an investigation into the attack is underway.
Daniel Estrin contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel, Dre Bouskaren from Istanbul, Turkey, Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Beirut, Lebanon, Jennifer Pak from Beijing and Ayana Archie from Washington, DC.
